Some scientists claim that the definition of planets needs to be rethought, stating that the existing definition is deeply rooted in folklore and astrology.
NASA
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Reported first by ScienceAlert, this is according to planetary scientist Philip Metzger of the University of Central Florida. To the uninitiated, that was drafted and agreed upon in August 2006, an astronomical body can be termed as a planet if it orbits the Sun, has sufficient mass to be spherical and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
And as per this definition, only eight celestial bodies have managed to make the cut (sorry, Pluto). However, now some experts are of the belief that there is a need for a more inclusive definition based solely on the physical properties of the celestial body.
Scientists ask for a celestial body to be termed as a planet if its body is or has been geologically active. This would allow several other floating celestial objects in our solar system including dwarf planets like Pluto, moons and even asteroids to be termed as a planet.
Metzger explains, “It’s like defining ‘mammals. They are mammals whether they live on the land or in the sea. It’s not about their location. It’s about the intrinsic characteristics that make them what they are.”
Metzger and his team have conducted an in-depth review of the last 400 years of scientific literature on planets and found that the definition that was first set by Galileo in the 1630s has actually slowly faded away.
Representational Image: NASA
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Galileo was of the opinion that planets are essentially objects made of elements that change over time, just like Earth — geologically active. He even claimed that planets tend to reflect sunlight, instead of producing their own shine.
And this definition was actively used until the 20th century, which led to Pluto being named as a planet in the 1930s. However, during 1910 and 1950s they saw a declining interest in planetary science with just a handful of research papers.
Metzger highlighted that according to bibliometrics, there was a period of neglect when astronomers didn’t pay enough attention to the planets and during this time they saw interruption of the pragmatic taxonomy from Galileo, getting adulterated with folklore, almanacs and astrology.
Such pseudoscientific literature claimed that only the largest bodies orbiting the Sun were planets, and anything else didn’t make the cut. And over time, this concept even crept into the scientific literature.
NASA
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Metzger concluded stating, “When Galileo proposed that planets revolve around the Sun, and reconceptualized Earth as a planet, it got him jailed under house arrest for the rest of his life. When scientists adopted his position, he was vindicated, in a sense, let out of jail.”
“But then around the early 1900s, we put him back in jail again when we went with this folk concept of an orderly number of planets. So, in a sense, we rejailed Galileo. So, what we’re trying to do, in a sense, is get Galileo out of jail again, so that his deep insight will be crystal clear.”
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